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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. content — the amount
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. object — a thing
  10. wake — a trail
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. game — a match
  14. land — ground
  15. saw — the tool
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — to protest
  18. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com